Almaden's THINKLab, which focuses on Accelerated Discovery, is a unique Research experience where clients can work side-by-side with IBM experts on science and data challenges.

In 1956, IBM Research established its first West Coast laboratory in San Jose, helping to create what would eventually become Silicon Valley. In 1986, IBM Research - Almaden became home to a rapidly growing team of scientists and researchers.

IBM Research - Almaden boasts a rich history of breakthroughs that include the distributed relational database; the ability to position individual atoms; the first data mining algorithms; the IBM Microdrive – the world's smallest disk drive; racetrack memory; and innovations in data storage technology. Today, Almaden's research community focuses on solving problems across areas as diverse as nanomedicine, services science, atomic scale storage, food safety and medical image analytics.

The major areas of research at Almaden are Science and Technology, including fundamental science, nanotechnology, spin physics and photoresists; Cognitive Solutions & Foundations, with work in areas such content management, human-computer interaction, text analytics, services-oriented architectures and most recently healthcare informatics; Accelerated Discovery for Industry Solutions, focusing on large scale, people and information-intensive challenges and Cloud & Synaptic Systems, from storage and file systems to server software and systems management. Additionally, technology licensing is a key element in our value creation strategy and a source of significant mutual benefits for IBM Research and its external partners.